Park 1292 30w combo Any info?

GoFish

 I came accross one of these on the 'Bay that neeeds a little TLC but apparently fully functional. Amusingly, the seller has described it as

"I guess you could fairly good condition"

I know nothing about them. A quick Google shows that there is a Bernie Marsden / Whitesnake connection fwiw. 

So, is it closer to a Public Service Announcement or more like a Pissing mySelf Already kind of amp?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/375491144284

 I have no interest in this or affiliation to it, so this is just theoretical

RickLucas

Looks like a transistor amp to me. No vents, no standby, no valves?

ScreamingDave

I think Park were a budget brand of Marshall, selling SS amps made in the far East, before a lot of Marshalls were made there, anyway. 

However, it looks like this one is an actual vintage one from much before that:

https://parkamplifiers.co.uk/

ICBM

Yes, solid state. Park model 1292 from around 1980.

I've played one once I think. They're not terrible, but from memory don't sound like a modern solid-state or any kind of valve amp - not a huge amount of gain, and the overdrive sound is quite fuzzy and farty unless you really crank it and thrash the speaker.

It's a pity the grille cloth is damaged, although it could be replaced - but the drilled holes in the back panel (I'd guess it's had an FX loop mod or something) is worse, and not easily repairable. If the circuit has been got at I'd want to see pics of the inside as well.

This exact amp (not model, the same example) is on reverb for an even more optimistic price - one of the pics shows the back panel off with the power transistors visible.

GoFish

Wow, thanks gents. I hadn't even considered that it would be a transistor solid state amp though it stands to reason. Sounds like a fine addition to the Museum of Obsolete Amp Designs but perhaps not to be used unless one had a specific sound in mind.

borntohang

ScreamingDave said:

I think Park were a budget brand of Marshall, selling SS amps made in the far East, before a lot of Marshalls were made there, anyway. 

However, it looks like this one is an actual vintage one from much before that:

https://parkamplifiers.co.uk/

Originally they were just early Marshalls tweaked and sold under a different name to get around a distribution deal Jim had with Rose-Morris, and then later they used the name to make budget amps in Asia. Excellent amp builder and designer called Mitch Colby (Colby Amps/Sundragon) bought the brand in 2012 and started hand-wiring the early models again, which is where the new range comes from. 

marxski

borntohang said:

ScreamingDave said:

I think Park were a budget brand of Marshall, selling SS amps made in the far East, before a lot of Marshalls were made there, anyway. 

However, it looks like this one is an actual vintage one from much before that:

https://parkamplifiers.co.uk/

Originally they were just early Marshalls tweaked and sold under a different name to get around a distribution deal Jim had with Rose-Morris, and then later they used the name to make budget amps in Asia. Excellent amp builder and designer called Mitch Colby (Colby Amps/Sundragon) bought the brand in 2012 and started hand-wiring the early models again, which is where the new range comes from. 

This ^ I have 20 watt 12” combo from the mid 70s uses 2x EL84s. It’s similar to the Marshall 20 watt head circuit but not identical. Nothing cheap about it internally. Quite different sounding to my Marshall 18 watt.

jca74

That one has a bad case of woodworm in the back panel...